5th Annual "Fill the Mug" Charity Bar Crawl

Dear Meetup Friends,

The Charity Bar Crawl, now in its 5th year, is organized by 3 good friends of mine: Don, Missy & Matt. I'm the photographer & webmaster. This event is always a GREAT TIME for a GREAT CAUSE!

Sadly, I know first hand the good work being done by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I lost my brother to leukemia 4 years ago. He needed a bone marrow transplant, and my tissue type was not a match. You can read about my brother's battle with leukemia here: www.learnaboutleukemia.org

When my brother was first diagnosed, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provided my family with educational materials, resources, etc. Through their "First Connections" program, I met a leukemia survivor who was willing to share her experiences with me.

I'm also a volunteer for Amy's Army. Amy's Army was formed when a local Pittsburgh girl was first diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 10, and there was no matching marrow donor for her in her family or in the world wide marrow registries! Amy's Army organizes marrow screening drives where the public can get tested for free to join the Marrow Registry. www.amysarmy.org

Today, at age 15, Amy is still in remission, and is doing phenomenally well...although there is still not even one matching marrow donor for her in the world wide marrow registries. BUT...the reason Amy is doing so well is that she's taking a relatively new "designer" oral chemotherapy drug called GLEEVEC.

GLEEVEC WAS DEVELOPED WITH FUNDING FROM THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY!!!
Gleevec in Wikipedia

So, you can see how important the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is to families affected by blood related cancers. And you can understand why this organization is so important to me.

But why is my friend, Don Splitstone, also invested in this cause? Why does Don organize the Charity Bar Crawl every year (along with help from Matt Graver) in what little free time he has? Because Don's mother is a LEUKEMIA SURVIVOR! She received a bone marrow transplant from an 18 year-old young man in Seattle, WA, and is alive 6 years post-transplant because a total stranger gave her the GIFT OF LIFE!

Learn how to join the National Marrow Registry..

In Pittsburgh, it's FREE to join the Marrow Registry when you donate blood through the Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh, and the test to join is just a cheek swab. When you join the National Marrow Registry, you become part of a world wide network of volunteers, willing to help save someone's life if you're ever found to be someone's miracle match! Anyone in relatively good health between the ages of 18-69 can join.

Being a matching marrow donor is NOT based on blood type.

Matching is based on your HLA type, which is inherited from your parents. Siblings are the best hope for a match, but siblings only have a 25% chance of matching. Approximately 75% of all patients needing a bone marrow transplant must rely on the kindness of a stranger in the marrow registry to save their lives!

YOU CAN BE A REAL LIFE SUPERHERO!
JOIN THE NATIONAL MARROW REGISTRY!
www.marrowdonation.org

I hope to see you at the Charity Bar Crawl!

Thank you,

Deena N. Alansky, Charity Bar Crawl Webmaster
www.CharityBarCrawl.com